TRENDING TAGS :
Additional steps taken to mitigate suffering in the rural areas
Lucknow: The Narendra Modi government at the centre seems to be simultaneously fighting at two fronts besides the one opened by the opposition. While it is trying hard to ease the situation in the rural areas created by cash crunch, the urban region being comparatively better, the plugging of holes found by black-money holders in the laws is its additional attention area.
The government has itself admitted that in absence of many bank branches and Automatic Teller machines more hardship is being faced by the people living in the countryside. The remote areas are experiencing a worse situation because they have to cover a good distance to reach a bank and may have to visit again, the bank running dry during the first visit.
It may be partly for this kind of feed-back that the government has constituted a three-member committee to find ways and means to provide relief to villagers, especially in areas which are away from the district and sub-divisional headquarters.
Some private players have appeared on the rural scene and are trying to mitigate the suffering but they can not meet all the needs of the vast populace in the countryside. In Uttar Pradesh alone, according to one survey, more than seventy per cent people reside in rural areas. In the neighbouring state of Bihar the percentage is much higher.
The committee has already met once in presence of law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, according to informed sources here, and discussed certain ways. Officials of Niti Ayog, industry and investment have been roped in to find temporary and lasting solutions to the problem.
Two other issues have come to the notice of the government--- alleged money-laundering in the North Eastern region and Prime Minister'sn Jan Dhan Yojna. Seizure of a heavy amount of money from Nagaland has sounded alert. More seizures are expected as more and more reports of misuse of exception granted to the area in the Income Tax Act are pouring in .
Black money-holders are also using PM's scheme to convert black-money into white which is obvious from the fact that there has been more than 30 per cent increase in the deposits in the scheme as compared to last month.
Some of them have deposited their ill-gotten wealth in other names to withdraw the money later when dust over the demonetisation issue will settle down. To off-set their design, the government has proposed to provide ATM cards to the account holders so that the pictures of the persons withdrawing money are taken and in -genuine customers are identified.
In addition, large deposits made after the demonetisation on November 8 are being examined to see if these deposits are genuine and there has been no " hera -pheri".
Also read: VIDEO: PM Modi broadsides Pakistan over Indus water treaty in Punjab
Admin
Next Story
